


A Lucky Celebration

by ShadowCrusade



Series: All Hallows Karma [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: All Hallows Karma, Fair Game October Month 2020, M/M, Pre-Relationship, We got a birthday in this bitch today folks, no beta just let me die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26889286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowCrusade/pseuds/ShadowCrusade
Summary: Day 6: Clover's BirthdayClover expected the day to pass by like any other. He didn't expect it to be filled with weird activities, much less gifts. But somehow, things are looking up.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: All Hallows Karma [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950640
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	A Lucky Celebration

**Author's Note:**

> So, I always headcanon that Clover's birthday is on October 7th. So....that's what this prompt is.

When Clover woke up, he hadn’t expected the chaos that came with it. Normally, he would have woken up to the sound of his alarm, or maybe to the sound of people outside the apartment he was currently renting. From something as small as the neighbor upstairs playing the violin down to a dog barking at the refreshed life of traffic. 

He did not expect for Elm to find a way to sneak into his apartment and tackle him while he slept. 

“Clover!” Was the first thing he heard before suddenly, his body felt like it was being crushed by a semi truck. The only thing he could let out as a response was a wheeze. Soon the weight from into his body disappeared as he blinked the blurriness in his vision away. Elm’s smiling face is what greeted him. With all the smiles, it seemed like she had been up for hours. Although, with the taller woman, he could never tell.

“Morning...Elm.” He huffed out as his lungs gathered air to breathe in. They hadn’t recovered from the giant that body slammed him.

“Good morning birthday man! Or should I say ‘Good Morning Lucky!’” Elm yelled as she pondered between her options. Clover glanced over at the clock across the room and read that it was only seven-thirty in the morning. Despite being an early riser, he was not at all prepared to deal with this energy in the morning. 

“Elm...how did you get in here?” Clover asked as he finally sat up from the bed. 

“I climbed in through your open window.” Elm pointed out. “I know you like to leave your windows late at night, but let this be a lesson to you that if I can get in, so can criminals.” Elm crossed her arms as if she had made a point. As if her being the one to set that standard was completely unrelated. 

Clover laughed. “Alright Elm. What kind of plans do you have for me today?”

“Only the best kind of plans.”

\--

Before he came on this month-long vacation with Elm and the others, Clover had a list of things he wanted to do when he came to Vale. He’s accomplished a few of those things, sightseeing being the main thing while he was here. Although, with yesterday’s adventure with Qrow, he’d seen most of Patch. Now, it was time to sightsee the actual city of Vale. 

Despite the early morning wake up, Elm did let Clover take his time to get ready. The two went to a small breakfast diner where Marrow and the others had joined up to meet the two of them. Marrow was as chipper as ever in the bright early morning, Vine and Harriet seemed indifferent, but nonetheless ready for the day. The five of them had a large breakfast before they set out the day’s journey. 

“The decorations they have in the city are quite extravagant, wouldn’t you say?” Vine asked as the group made its way into the city. “Although, not as eccentric as the island.” 

Clover chuckled. “Apparently, in Patch, there’s a long standing tradition about celebrating it to the fullest to honor the lives of the ancestors.” He recalled the information from what Qrow had told him the day before when he asked a similar question. 

“Oh? I wasn’t aware you had read up on the island’s traditions.” Vine remarked. 

“I learned about it yesterday when I was out with Qrow.” Clover stated as the group walked by another store that was decked out in halloween decorations. “There’s a whole lot of history about it and-” Clover trailed off when he noticed his friends had stopped walking. “Guys?”

“You spent the whole day yesterday....with Qrow?” Elm asked, a grin present on her face.

“Um...”

“Like the whole day, Clover?” Marrow asked, a glint in his eyes. 

“Well...”

“Well that certainly didn’t take long.” Harriet had a hand on her hip, a smirk on her face. 

“Wait a minute-”

Vine shook his head as he stepped towards the brunette. “Honestly, Clover, we’ve been here for not even a full week and you already caught feelings didn’t you?”

“Guys! It’s my birthday! Quit bullying me like this!” Clover shouted back as Elm threw her head back and laughed. 

She swung an arm around his shoulder. “You make it too easy, Cloves!” She only laughed more as the rest of the group chuckled. Clover could only feel himself sink into despair. “Now come on birthday boy, let’s continue celebrating your first birthday in Vale.” The group continued on their way. 

The small group found themselves in the center of town where all the shops were. They traveled together from store to store, as they bought whatever grabbed their attention in the first place. At some point, Clover had started to browse through an old antique shop, which separated him from his friends as they made their rounds. He didn’t mind, the peace and quiet of it all. There didn’t seem to be much of anyone else around in the shop. Although, with the glass figurines and soft melodic music that played in the speakers above, Clover wondered how the shop didn’t have more of a customer base. He found himself staring at some of the charms that were on display, almost hanging down from the ceiling. The way that the sunlight streamed in from the windows above, the charms shimmered in different colors off the wall. He was lost in the different designs that he hadn’t noticed when someone had approached him from behind. 

“Hi Clover!” A chipper voice piped up behind him. Clover immediately looked behind him to be greeted with bright silver eyes. Black to red gradient colored hair with the biggest on her face. “It’s nice to see you again!” 

Clover chuckled. “Ruby, right?” The young girl nodded. “I haven’t seen you since the coffee shop, how is everything going?” 

“It’s going alright!” Ruby excitedly replied. “We’ve seen a lot of Marrow and Harriet with us. She and I have a race coming up soon, so I’m pretty pumped about that.” Ruby was practically jumping with anticipation. 

“Is that so? She didn’t mention anything to me.” 

“Well we made that deal yesterday,” Ruby admitted sheepishly. “But, we plan to do it at the fun run soon, so it’ll be more of a free for all at that point.” Clover nodded in acknowledgement. “So, anyways, what have you been up to?” 

“Oh, I’ve just been checking out the city.” Clover explained. “I also have been visiting Patch quite a bit.” 

“Yeah, I figured. Uncle Qrow has mentioned you a bit.” Ruby said it so innocently that Clover couldn’t help but wonder if it was planned. 

“Oh...he has?”

“Yeah, he mentioned you helped out with him yesterday for some photos.” Ruby stated as she put something on the nearby shelf. “It’s always fun with Uncle Qrow when he goes out to shoot photos. He makes things interesting.”

“Yeah,” Clover let a small smile appear on his face. “He does.” He thought about their time together yesterday some more before he shook himself out of his thoughts. “Anyways, what are you doing here?”

“Oh! I work here!” Ruby told him. “It’s only a part time job and I come in whenever they need me. So, I make my own hours here.” 

“Oh, I guess that makes more sense.” 

“Hey Clove? Where are you birthday boy?!” A familiar booming voice filtered in from the front of the shop. 

Ruby looked at him in confusion. “Back here Elm!” He called to his friend as he could see the top of his friend’s head as she made her way over to him. He waved her over. 

“Birthday boy?” Ruby asked as Elm stood next to them. 

“It’s this guy’s birthday today!” Elm shouted excitedly. “So, we’ve been exploring the city as a cool birthday gift!” 

“Well Happy Birthday Clover!” Ruby cheered as her and Elm high fived each other. 

Clover couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Aww. Thanks! But I’ll let you go on about your day. Don’t want to get you in trouble.” 

“Nah! I’ll be okay! The owners like me here! Although...” Her voice trailed off as she looked up at the different charms that hung down from the ceiling. She seemed to find what she was looking for as her face lit up. “Wait here a sec!” She darted off in a blur of red as she ran to the back of the shop. He and Elm just looked at each other as they waited for the young girl to return. She came back as quickly as she left. A small brown bag in hand, as she handed it to Clover. “Here! Think of it as a birthday gift!” 

“Oh Ruby. You didn’t have to-”

“It’s no trouble! Besides, I also want to use this as a thank you gift.” Clover was confused.  _ A thank you for what? _ “Thanks, for being friends with my Uncle. He’s not always the easiest person to get along with...so thanks. For being friends with him.” 

“You’re welcome, and Qrow is not at all that bad.” He said. “So, I’d be more than happy to keep being friends with him.” 

“Well, I’m glad!” Ruby smiled. “And have a nice birthday!” The three parted as the young girl went back to work and the other two exited the store. 

“Don’t say it...” Clover warned.

“Getting good with his family?” Elm elbowed him in the gut a little. “You sure move fast Ebi.” 

“I hate it here...”

\--

The day passed on with more sights that the group took in. More photos added to his phone and more memories were made as the day went on. As the sun set, the group settled on a place to have dinner. Of course, Elm had let it ‘accidentally’ spill that it was his birthday. Soon, the whole restaurant was chanting the birthday song as the waiters brought out a hat and extra ice cream for him. Marrow and Harriet took all the photos from the second the song started, to the second Elm dunked his face into the ice cream. Clover would be lying if he said that he didn’t enjoy how the evening ended. 

Clover had been walking back to his current living space when he saw Qrow again. The man wore the same leather jacket that he had the day before. Although, now he seemed to just be wearing a regular pair of sneakers with some regular pants. He was simply sitting at a bench that was nearby to where Clover was staying, on his phone, completely unbothered by his surroundings. 

“Uh, hey Qrow.” Clover greeted as the other man simply looked up at him. “What brings you to the city?

“I got something I want to show you.” He said as he stood up from the bench. Clover could only stare as the man began to walk away from him. He stopped before he turned to look at Clover. “Well? Are you coming or not?” There was no emotion on his face, but it didn’t seem like he was angry. Clover said nothing as he quickly caught up to Qrow and the two walked side by side. The brown bag was still in his hand. He hadn’t even opened it yet, so he had no idea what the other man’s niece had gifted him. 

“So, where are we going exactly?” He asked. It wasn’t too late into the night, so he wasn’t worried about being up late. 

“It’s a secret.”

“Are you about to murder me?”

“Before Halloween? What kind of serial killer would that make me?” Qrow said, his voice flat. Clover immediately wanted to run. He seriously thought about it before Qrow started laughing. “Come on Lucky Charm! I’m just messin’ with ya.” The smile on his face was genuine as the concern left Clover’s body. “Keep walking with me?”

“Sure.” 

The pair walked on, no words being exchanged between the two of them. Qrow led him through a maze of the city, some stores he recognized from his trip in the city earlier. The night life buzzed with people as more of the night owls started to appear. Soon, the two walked underneath the bridge, there was a fence up ahead that sealed off the rest of the way. Before Clover could say anything, Qrow quickly clambered onto the fence, and swiftly climbed over it. Clover just watched as the other man landed gracefully on the other side of the fence. 

Qrow dusted himself off as he looked back at Clover. “Well? Are you just gonna stand there or do you want to see what I brought you out here for?” 

“Oh um...” Clover looked at the small brown bag. “Could you catch this for me?” Qrow nodded as he lightly tossed the bag over the fence. Qrow caught it with ease as he put it in the pocket of his leather jacket. Clover slowly started to climb over the fence and soon landed next to the dark haired man. “So...where now?” 

“We’re almost there.” The two trailed further into what seemed to be an abandoned run down part of the city. The further in they went, Clover could hear laughter. The faint sounds of music could be heard. Qrow didn’t say anything as he kept walking, but Clover stuck closer to Qrow’s side. Soon, the sight of people came into view, seemed like kids closer to Marrow’s age. Beer bottles were tossed around, as kids with spray paint were close to the walls. 

Some of the kids took notice of the pair and immediately waved, their smiles gentle. “Hey Qrow! How’s it going?!” 

“It’s going fine kid.” Qrow replied warmly. “Just going to the alley, any new art?”

The silver haired boy only smirked. “Yeah, I got some new stuff up there since you were last here. Also, KitKat was here the other day. She finally finished up hers groove.” 

“I’ll have to check those out. Thanks Mercury.”

“Anytime featherbrain.” The other people that were present waved as the two men made their way past them. 

“You know these kids?” Clover asked, after being a safe distance away from the group. 

“Yeah, the local ‘delinquents’ of the city. They’re not bad kids, just no one ever took the time to deal with them. So, they hang out here, where they can really be themselves. Where they don’t have to worry about some of the bigger problems they might have.” Qrow explained as he started to walk down a set of stairs. The concrete seemed to have cracks in it, but otherwise stable. Clover followed him down and soon they stood before another tunnel. 

“One more tunnel and we’ll be there.” Qrow said as the two walked in the tunnel. The flashlight on Qrow’s phone was used to guide their way as Clover seriously wondered if he wasn’t about to get murdered. He didn’t question it though as they made it to the end of the tunnel. The flashlight shut off as Qrow smiled back at him, his red eyes illuminated by the darkness that surrounded him. 

“We’re here.” He stepped aside as Clover made his way past Qrow. And now understood why this place was far out of the way from the city. “Welcome to Artist Alley.” 

More abandoned buildings lay before them, but they weren’t empty. Instead, on the surface of each cemented wall, was graffiti art plastered everywhere. Different ranges of colors were used and Clover could see some teenagers that were in the process of putting their mark on the walls. Little lamps lit up the area, not enough light to draw outside attention, but enough to showcase the art that was created in this small space. 

It was beautiful.

“Qrow this is...”

“It’s one of my favorite places in this whole city. Although, it’s not exactly legal, so if you wouldn’t mind keeping this on the downlow.” Qrow informed him. Clover nodded. “I figured I’d show this to you.”

“But why? It’s not like you owed me anything.” 

“True. But...a certain someone told me it was your birthday today.” Qrow remarked as he looked up the art in the buildings that surrounded them. 

“Ruby got to you, didn’t she?” Qrow nodded. “Didn’t mean for that.”

“She called me and practically screamed it into my ear.” 

“I’m so sorry.”

Qrow waved him off. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I think she’s just excited for a new friend.” 

The two men laughed as they walked through the buildings, the art provided for a sort of comfort. “Wait, that reminds me...” Clover handed out his hand. “The bag.”

“Oh, right.” Qrow handed him the small bag.

“This is actually from your niece, so I’m kind of excited.” 

“Oh no...” Qrow muttered as he looked worried. Clover shrugged him off as he opened the crumbled brown bag. Inside there was a small black box. Gently, he removed the small black box from the bag. He opened it up to be greeted with the sight of a shooting star. He grabbed the design and lifted it from its place in the box. A small chain was attached to it. 

“She got me a necklace?” 

“A sign of good luck from what it looks like.” Qrow said. “Shooting stars are a sign of good luck.” Clover could only smile as he went to unclasp the necklace. “Need help?”

“That would be appreciated.” 

Qrow stood behind Clover as he clasped the necklace around the Atlesian’s neck. Clover tried not to let a blush rise to his face for fear of Qrow seeing it. He did manage to keep his breath under control as Qrow seemed to fumble with the necklace a bit before it was secured. 

“Got it.”

Clover turned to face him before he looked down at his newest accessory. “It’s perfect.” The shooting star rested against his chest comfortably. Like it was meant to be there. 

“Happy Birthday, Clover.”


End file.
